"The so-called danger,"
"is only considered a risk when the jail warden and Lumiere are at home, right?"
The air in the living room froze for a few seconds, and then Ronald began to speak:
"As long as we can find a way to distract these guys, the outcome is naturally going to be a lot simpler."
"That’s true." Facing Ronald’s idea, Swift nodded his agreement, "Without those two original controllers and that unpredictable ’person.’"
"With our skill level, and perhaps even just me alone, investigating that mansion’s dungeon won’t be a problem."
Pausing for a moment, Swift took a sip of tea before continuing:
"But the issue is, how do we get them out of the way."
"People with inherent issues will definitely have solid precautionary measures in place."
"This is from my experience."
Listening to Mr. Detective’s ideas, Ronald naturally began to ponder as well.
"How to distract the jail warden and Lumiere..."
"Perhaps this isn’t as complicated as we’re making it out to be!"
Setting his teacup down on the table in front of him, Ronald spoke up directly:
"You might be overthinking the problem."
"As a public official, the jail warden is bound to have to go out for work, and there surely won’t be a shortage of duties related to his job that require him to set fixed working hours and schedules."
"As long as we figure out his schedule, then in practical terms, the jail warden could even be entirely excluded from their forces, and merely seen as a pattern of external activity."
"When he’s not out on official business, we assume no investigation; and if he is out, he generally won’t be able to return quickly, so we’ll only need to distract Lumiere."
Swift openly acknowledged his error and nodded generously.
To be honest, he had just been stuck in a bit of rote thinking.
But this was also a problem caused by his excessive nervousness.
The jail warden was not the same as the targets Swift had faced in the past.
This was not about staking out some lady’s house all day to see if her husband was cheating and having to follow him around twenty-four hours a day.
Nor was it about sticking out at a mobster’s hideaway, a den of iniquity constantly guarded by lookouts.
This was about a public official with status and authority.
A residence where he normally lived.
And it was the dungeon beneath the warden’s mansion that was the real challenge to face.
All they had to do was find an opportunity to go inside and find the evidence implicating the jail warden and Lumiere.
Subsequently, as a member of Blenheim’s local social circle, who was more familiar with the life of the upper class, Mr. Detective continued to speak:
"In fact, it isn’t only the jail warden who will be out, considering Lumiere as a girl newly introduced to society, she will likely be attending some mandatory social events frequently during this period."
"She is bound to attend at least one or two balls a week."
Ronald’s face lit up with joy, for he was completely clueless about the social etiquette of the locals. Having Swift, who was so knowledgeable to assist, was probably the luckiest thing for him today.
So, he also continued along the same lines:
"Then next, all we have to do is find a time when Lumiere is attending a ball, and then her ’manservant’ will naturally leave with her, and as long as this coincides with the jail warden’s work schedule, we’ll have no problem!"
Smiling as well, Swift nodded and said:
"Exactly, we just need to find that timing."
"Our operation can then proceed smoothly."
Ronald nodded in response and continued:
"Next comes the task of collecting the jail warden’s schedule."
"As for that, I think..."
In the living room at night, the two of them took turns, continuously hammering out the details of the action plan.
The process of gathering information,
And contingency plans for unexpected events...
It wasn’t until midnight that they finished discussing the entire plan.
At that point, Ronald rose from the sofa and gave a very formal bow to Swift:
"Swift, I am truly grateful for your assistance."
"I’ll accept your thanks."
At this time, Swift was not about to stand on ceremony; he also stood up, patted Ronald on the shoulder, and headed downstairs himself.
"Come on, Mister Employer."
"Do you need me to escort you home?"
Hearing the detective’s tone, Ronald also smiled:
"Just escorting me downstairs will suffice."
The two walked down the stairs together, and thereafter, Ronald left Swift’s office all by himself.
Walking alone on Ruby Street.
Ronald subconsciously looked back at the detective’s office.
The lights on the ground floor had gone out when they had just come downstairs, but the light in the second-floor living quarters was still on.
Evidently, Swift did not plan on going to sleep after Ronald’s departure.
This detective was still contemplating the subsequent developments and their action plan.
After quietly observing the detective’s office for a few seconds,
Ronald turned his head and completely left, heading toward the direction of his residence apartment.
At this point in time, the streets were utterly devoid of pedestrians.
Only the flickering streetlights on the roadside lit the path for Ronald.
At times , Ronald certainly did not expect to hail a cab to take him home.
Wandering on the midnight streets of Blenheim City felt quite nice.
As long as he avoided some patrolling guards to save the trouble of being questioned, it was also a kind of enjoyable late-night walk.
Tonight was definitely a good day for Ronald.
At Swift’s, he had received the latest news about Mil, and together they had discussed their next plan of action.
Everything was moving in a direction that was beneficial to him.
Or one might put it another way.
From the time Ronald had crossed over to the present,
He was beginning to feel as if the fog around him was starting to lift.
The main cultural makeup of the countries of this world, the basic rules of the mysterious side, the environment he found himself in.
He had already supplemented his knowledge in these areas to the level of an average person.
Now, even if he and a group of locals were suddenly thrown onto an isolated island cut off from the world, he was confident he could blend in perfectly with the crowd.
Walking alone at night, feeling the comfort brought by the sufficient information acquired.
This mental comfort even surpassed the urgency brought on by the tense discussion earlier.
How could one not be happy?
Strolling leisurely within Blenheim City.
After leaving Ruby Street and three more streets, as Ronald passed by the nighttime market district,
Someone suddenly called out his name from a distance.
"It’s been a long time!"
— That was a cheerful voice.
— And it belonged to an energetic young girl.